Drawing Guyvers

[Shenzon]

I've been trying desperately to draw guyvers. I used to draw in high school years ago, and haven't drawn since. Does anyone have any tips?

Also, someone mentioned their are some good software programs out there for drawing on computers. Just wondering if anyone has heard of any?

[Juggernought]

I think on one of the off-site links there are some drawing tutorials on how to draw the basic guyver. As far as detailing and color goes, i assume photoshop would be an adequate software, of course everyone has their own preference.

[Shenzon]

Photoshop? I forgot all about that program. Thanks. You mentioned detailing, I didn't know you could do that with photoshop. I'm definately going to get it. Thanks for the tips on the tutorials also. Its been years since I last drew, but I have so many ideas for new guyver designs, but they do no good in my head.

[Matt Bellamy]

http://www.warriorguyver.com/guyver2pla ... tutors.htm

The link to the page of tutorials on how to draw Guyvers.

The full body tutorial is pretty informative.

[largo]

Leighs tutorial is really good it just sucks that I can't seem to work it right. Main guyvers are just hard to draw right.

[Shenzon]

Hey Sully, I have a question for you. Your drawings are incredible, especially since they are created on computer. What is the FIRST thing you do when start to draw?

Sorry about asking too much detail, I just have so many ideas, I would like to get them drawn. What kind of tablet do you use?

[Matt Bellamy]

Leighs tutorial is really good it just sucks that I can't seem to work it right. Main guyvers are just hard to draw right.

Well, the Guyver proportions aren't too big a deal if you can draw a basic human outline. It's usually best to start with a basic, undetailed human form, and then add armor from there.

If you're having problems with that step however, there are plenty of anatomy resources on the net.

Plus it ALWAYS helps to have a simple Guyver resource pic available to give yourself an idea of what needs to be done. If you look at any manga artists desk ( including Takaya's from a few shots in the VDF book), they keep pics of their characters close for reference.

Hey Sully, I have a question for you. Your drawings are incredible, especially since they are created on computer. What is the FIRST thing you do when start to draw?

Sorry about asking too much detail, I just have so many ideas, I would like to get them drawn. What kind of tablet do you use?

Sully actually skips an important step that I mentioned above.

The drawing of a body.

The FIRST thing he does when he starts a pic is finds a suitable base to put armor on. He uses the vast resources of the internet to find a picture of a person/character to use. Sometimes he finds the perfect character pose... and other times he'll mix some different body parts to make the pose he wants.

This is why some times his characters have different proportions than the "norm"

See, not to sound like I am picking on him, since he'd confirm it himself... Sully cannot draw traditionally like I do. He can Cg the hell out of things though ( much better than myself). Which is why you see a lot of collaberation work between him and myself.

And as far as I know... he has always used a mouse. I think I'm the only one with a tablet here.

[Shenzon]

Ahh...so he does it by mixing body parts. So Matt, what kind of tablet and drawing program you have? Your ultimus and Warrior Guyver C is sweet!!

When you say draw a basic human outline, you mean like with circles and squares for the head, chest, and arm areas?

Would you maybe have a basic human outline laying around that you could post?

[Matt Bellamy]

Ahh...so he does it by mixing body parts. So Matt, what kind of tablet and drawing program you have? Your ultimus and Warrior Guyver C is sweet!!

When you say draw a basic human outline, you mean like with circles and squares for the head, chest, and arm areas?

Would you maybe have a basic human outline laying around that you could post?

My tablet is currently a 4x5 inch Wacom Graphire 3... but I'll be upgrading to a bigger size pretty soon. But I have used this size of tablet for the last...5 or 6 years, and it's never failed me. I'm only upgrading because I am now trying to get serious with my art.

For art programs though... I normally use Photoshop 7 to color... but if I am looking to sketch digitally with my tablet I will go into a paintchat or use an older version of Open Canvas.

For a basic human body, in many ways, yes, just made of simple shapes. Although I have evolved past using the crude shapes, and have simplified it over the years due to practice.

As for a sample, I don't have anything on hand right now... most of my stuff is still packed ( just moved).

[Shenzon]

Ahh...ok, thanks Matt. I'm going to look in to getting one of those tablets. I saw a few on TigerDirect.com. I've been dying to learn how to draw on the PC, but wasn't sure where to start. Plus they look so much better when drawn on the PC. I'm sure it will take me some time to get used to it though..

[Matt Bellamy]

Ahh...ok, thanks Matt. I'm going to look in to getting one of those tablets. I saw a few on TigerDirect.com. I've been dying to learn how to draw on the PC, but wasn't sure where to start. Plus they look so much better when drawn on the PC. I'm sure it will take me some time to get used to it though..

Yeah, they do take a lot of getting used to.

Hell I'm still much better with pencil and inking before scanning and then CGing with my tablet. Granted I have been lazy with art for quite a while...

The biggest change I find, is having to look at your monitor when drawing... when instinctively you want to look at the tip of your pen instead, like you would do when you draw with a pencil.

It's like relearning how to write all over again.

[Rivyn]

Look an important part of drawing anything, especially guyvers for that matter, is practice. Practice, Practice, Practice

Unless you're born to draw and just have that natural talent, you arent going to get it right the first time. The trick is not to get disheartened by it. I've only done a couple of guyver pics myself and only one of them in my opinion is any good and the head and hands on it still sucks in my opinion, I started at like 10pm and didn't finish it until like 5:30 or 6:00am!!

I dont know much about drawing on a computer, all my stuff is pencil and paper and a cheap scanner, so I cant really advise on any of that stuff.

Still if you want to draw guyvers you'll probably be met with frustration and irritation and probably headaches before you get where you want to be. Just keep at it and don't give up and you'll be fine. I agree with what Matt said, have reference pictures to help you, lots of them. Print them out so you can have them next to you or draw in front of your computer, but reference pictures can be your greatest allie

[McAvoy]

Back in the day (2000 to 2001) when my first laptop was setup for drawing pictures and then sharing online, I did Guyvers two ways. One was what I called the stick figure pose, which for me was basically drawing a stick figure with balls for the joints and then drawing a very rough outline on what I wanted, then I filled it in as I went along. Most of the time, I would redraw it since many people think that your first drawing of that Guyver is the only picture you should draw. You should first sketch a basic look of what you want first, then evolve it and sometimes this can take three re-dos or in one case over a dozen (for me). The second way I did it, was basically find a nice pose of one of the Guyvers then do a outline, then alter as needed as much as I could so i could mask that it was a trace of a picture.

Unfortunately that laptop fried the hard drive and a few other things, so all the pcitures and data i had on that computer was destroyed. I also had an old version of Photoshop 6.0 which i lost over time.

Basically how i do it now, is that I pretty much freehand it with a few reference photos then when I think i got it right, I scan it onto the computer at the biggest resolution I can get it hence, a huge picture. i found out early on if you scan a picture really big onto the computer and then procede to alter it, and then when finised shrink it to the right size, it'll hide any mistakes you have made. This is how I color, since I suck as freehand coloring. I am much better at coloring pictures on a computer.

Some day though I will get the new CS3 since I refuse any of my hard work to be touched by Paint.

[largo]

Leighs tutorial is really good it just sucks that I can't seem to work it right. Main guyvers are just hard to draw right.

Well, the Guyver proportions aren't too big a deal if you can draw a basic human outline. It's usually best to start with a basic, undetailed human form, and then add armor from there.

If you're having problems with that step however, there are plenty of anatomy resources on the net.

Plus it ALWAYS helps to have a simple Guyver resource pic available to give yourself an idea of what needs to be done. If you look at any manga artists desk ( including Takaya's from a few shots in the VDF book), they keep pics of their characters close for reference.

Hey Sully, I have a question for you. Your drawings are incredible, especially since they are created on computer. What is the FIRST thing you do when start to draw?

Sorry about asking too much detail, I just have so many ideas, I would like to get them drawn. What kind of tablet do you use?

Sully actually skips an important step that I mentioned above.

The drawing of a body.

The FIRST thing he does when he starts a pic is finds a suitable base to put armor on. He uses the vast resources of the internet to find a picture of a person/character to use. Sometimes he finds the perfect character pose... and other times he'll mix some different body parts to make the pose he wants.

This is why some times his characters have different proportions than the "norm"

See, not to sound like I am picking on him, since he'd confirm it himself... Sully cannot draw traditionally like I do. He can Cg the hell out of things though ( much better than myself). Which is why you see a lot of collaberation work between him and myself.

And as far as I know... he has always used a mouse. I think I'm the only one with a tablet here.

Matt my problem is the head of the guyver the rest is no sweat. I always screw up on either the proportions for the control medal or I make the head past the eyes all screwy.